There are some aspects of the Age series – that were present in previous games – that make it very enjoyable and I miss them in Age of Empires 4. They would make team games a lot more fun and enjoyable!
Diplomacy from Age of Empires II is one of them. This is a fast paced RTS and not a GSG, I know; but being able to change sides during matches was a fun aspect of skirmish games, and I believe there are a couple reasons why it would make the game better:
1- It’s mid game and you might need to side with another player that e.g. controls a lot of gold while you have a lot of wood, and both of you really need to take down that other player who is way ahead. So, the game started in a free-for-all, but you see an opportunity in allying in order to win the game, so you take it.
2- Everyone likes a lil’ bit of backstabbing… Maybe you are doing better than your fellow allies (perhaps the game is in a deadlock) and the only way out of the situation is by siding with the other team, so you just take the chance and betray your teammates.
3- Saving some time too: you readied a whole match with your friends, but then, at the start of the match, you look at the map and realize y’all forgot to place the teams… So instead of leaving the match and having to set everything up again, all you do is change diplomacy during the match and it’s all done. Much quicker!
Something that would go very well with Diplomacy would be Last Man Standing. This was a victory condition available in Age of Empires II. It’s fun because it forces everyone to play as best as they can, since there is no allied victory: let’s say you are playing a 3v3, in that case that slower friend of yours really needs to play for himself, otherwise he will be vanquished by the better players (former teammates) when the enemy team is finally defeated; it also adds a lot more competition between teammates, but balanced with support, because you have to help each other, but not too much, because eventually y’all will be going for each others’ throats – y’all need to “spy” on eachother, maybe deny some resources, even capture sheep and relics earlier than one another…
Last thing, that was in Age of Empires III and that was kinda fun: Surrender Acceptance! Maybe a bit silly, but it is frustrating when you are playing a match and you go for a huge invasion or massive battle and all you want is to erase your enemy’s civ from the map, for whatever reason (maybe they killed your monk or stole your precious sheep our you just outright wanna humiliate them), but then they press surrender and all your efforts to build your armies and prepare your attack were “in vain”… I am sure most of us really enjoy destroying our enemies to the last structure, to the last man.
All those options, naturally, should be toggles during match set-ups (both in single-player and multiplayer skirmishes), and in the case of surrender acceptance it should be unavailable on ranked matches etc. (no point in forcing players to stay around until the very end).
Feel free to share your thoughts!